Crystallization enhancement and microstructure evolution characteristics of Ti-bearing blast furnace slag glass-ceramics with the introduction of ferrochromium slag

In this study, Ti-bearing blast furnace slag (TBS) and ferrochromium slag (FS) were co-utilized to prepare augitebased glass-ceramics. The synergistic effects of TBS and FS on the crystallization characteristics, glass matrix evolution, and physical properties of the glass-ceramics were investigated. The results showed that the glassceramics prepared from TBS exhibited insufficient crystallization ability owing to the Ti4+ entering the glass network and inhibiting the formation of a gehlenite-like Ca-rich phase. With the introduction of FS, Cr2O3 disturbed the cation distribution in the glass network, reduced the activation energy of crystallization, transformed the crystallization mode and effectively increased the crystallization capacity. Moreover, the addition of FS resulted in the grain refinement of the augite phase, which improved the physical properties. With the addition of 36.89 wt% TBS and 27.67 wt% FS, the obtained glass-ceramics exhibited outstanding physical properties including a bulk density of 3.14 g/cm3, a bending strength of 173.5 MPa, and 727.3 Hv hardness.